Onboard Air System for F-150

[Nicksteele]

Hey Y'all,

I'm fairly new to all this, thanks to a buddy of mine. I tried looking across the various posts but I was wondering if anyone has a good write up for a reliable system to provide onboard air. I am mainly looking for something to fill a flat tire, clean out the air filter, and other general uses. Thanks in advance for the help and support.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Think about what you'd want for duty cycle

The least expensive 100% duty cycle compressor with tank that I'm aware of is the Puma PD1006.
Link to Puma PD1006 at Amazon

It's a work horse. Not flashy or fast. Just reliable and steady.

Pick up a cheap set of flexible jumper cables. Cut one end of the clamps off, and wire it directly to the switch box.
Then a 25' curly hose, and you've got a nice portable setup you can toss anywhere there is room in your truck.
The key with this compressor is the 100% duty cycle. It will run all day long without issue.
spikes about 50A, and runs at about 40A rms.

I hard mounted one of these in the Jeep. It would run my 1/2" impact gun to change a tire, but not an air-ratchet or die grinder for very long, without having to wait for the tank to refill.
There are compressors with faster fill rates, but without spending significantly more, there aren't compressors with better cfm, and 100% duty cycle.

On the old Scout, I hard mounted an MV50 compressor with a 2.5 gallon air tank, an anti bleed back valve, and a pressure switch. It is about half as fast filling up all four tires as the Puma, but the 2.5 gallon tank was nice for blowing off dust and stuff, without running the compressor.
This whole system was built for about $200.
The downside to this setup is the low duty cycle. It will run long enough to air up the tires, and blow stuff off. Then it has to sit (33% duty cycle). At the end of a dusty trail, having time to kick back and suck down a cold drink... or two, while waiting for the compressor cool off, isn't always such a bad thing... lol

Pictures 1 & 2 are the Puma in the Jeep
Pictures 3 and 4 are the MV50 and tank in the old Scout

Hope this helps,

 

[ripperj]

Cool compressor, I hadn’t heard of them
Here’s the website
http://www.pumaairusa.com/products-08.html


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I have a couple Puma's since 2007, one has 100's of run hours on it. Ill say it again the best Chinese item I have ever purchased.

I have make a lot of "PUMA" mounts for the 80 series LandCruiser and never heard of a failure.

 

[Nicksteele]

Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely look into getting one. Would it be possible or even wise to add a second tank to the compressor?

 

[Grenadiers]

An expensive option is the ARB twin high-performance air compressor, the CKMTA12; around 500 bucks. But, there are deals out there you have to look for them. I have one in my built Jeep Wrangler for off-road use, washboard roads, etc, when 14psi or less is required. Comes with the necessary switches and wiring. I have ARB air-lockers so this is a dual purpose unit for myself and many others. Plumbing it into an air tank (fitted under your truck bed for example), you can use any off the shelf components, hoses, fittings, pressure regulator, pressure switch, etc. The advertising indicates you can run air tools with the compressor only, but I doubt that; a tank is needed. Viair is another brand of compressors and accessories they have a nice 2.5 gallon tank for example. Running a hose from compressor to tank, then tank to rear bumper for example, then secure fitting for easy access.

 

[1stDeuce]

I put a Viair 400C under the bed on my truck on an unused bracket. It has a pressure switch, and a line to a quick fitting on the back bumper, and that's it.
I use a clip-on chuck, and it'll air up my ~32" tires quick enough that I barely have time to grab a bite or pee between tires. I'm airing up to 50-70psi, but on F150, you're only getting tires to ~40psi at the most, so it'll be really quick for you.

I think I paid $275 for a viair 400c (150psi) twin pack a few years ago. (One for my truck, one for the Comanche)
Generally the 150psi pumps are higher volume (faster) than the 200psi pumps.

I don't think there's a cheaper way to have hard mounted OBA for airing up tires that takes up so little room.

Having a tank only helps with things that require a lot of volume in short bursts, like running an air impact, seating a tire bead, or blowing out an air filter. They actually hurt performance for filling tires. For that reason, I chose to skip the tank on my truck, but I do have a 3 gal tank on my Jeep, which uses the A/C pump, as it's fast enough that it just doesn't matter.

If you think you really will need some volume at times, you could always T in a small tank with a shut off valve. Turn off the valve to air up tires, turn on the valve to have some reserve... I do have a tiny 1 gal aluminum tank that I've just laid inline to have a small amount of volume available for a trim nailer. I was planing to mount it with a T and valve, but I have only used it that one time, so I doubt I ever will...

 

[Comanche Scott]

Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely look into getting one. Would it be possible or even wise to add a second tank to the compressor?

I would suggest just start with the compressor. Once you've had a chance to use it for a while, then you'll know if you need a second tank.
Adding a tank increases the complexity, and points of failures. I'm all about keeping things as simple as possible.

 

[Betarocker]

I used a pair of Viair 480 compressors with a 3 gallon tank on my previous truck. Front and rear ARBs, air horns, and quick connects front and rear. A few years ago I swapped the Viairs out with a single Air Zenith when one of the 480s went south.

 

[SHS14]

I have this little guy for filling up tires. It’s a little workhorse with a decent duty cycle. I’ve used it a bunch, completely happy with the purchase for $50. I keep under the third row seats in my SUV.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005...=viair+88p&dpPl=1&dpID=41OycFDAm9L&ref=plSrch